There are some 23 million small businesses in the United States, but only about 1% sell their goods outside the country. Fortunately, the number of businesses that export is increasing, more than tripling in the past seven years. The main reason behind the surge in exporters is fairly simple: small businesses export in order to grow.

Are you looking for new sales opportunities? If the answer is yes, there’s an agency with offices across the U.S. that can open doors to the world for your business.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service is a leader in providing export assistance, especially to small and midsized companies. Last year, the Commercial Service helped U.S businesses generate export sales worth more than $34 billion.

“95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S.,” says U.S. Commercial Service Assistant Secretary and Director General Maria Cino, who leads the agency. “And because the world’s consumers know U.S. products are excellent, our companies enjoy a competitive advantage.”

A little help goes along way

This is not to say that exporting is as easy as selling to customers in your own backyard. Cino says that U.S. business owners need to carefully target the best markets for their products and then be prepared to deal with cultural differences, unfamiliar labeling standards, customs issues and a host of other challenges. “Helping navigate the exporter through the process involved in making their first sale is a big part of what we do,” says Cino.

But before there can be a sale, there needs to be a buyer—and that’s who Cino says the U.S. Commercial Service is particularly good at finding. “Because we have offices in 161 international cities and in 83 countries around the world, we know who wants to buy what and we make sure they are legitimate and will make good customers for the U.S. suppliers.”

Cino says the first thing U.S. businesspeople interested in exporting should do is to call their local U.S. Export Assistance Center for an analysis of export opportunities. During this assessment phase, trade specialists pinpoint the assistance needed and develop a plan for reaching the company’s market entry goals. These specialists have access to a vast amount of market research; if more is needed to answer highly specific questions about particular markets and products, they can request customized research from one of their 1800 colleagues around the world.

Cino also advises the prospective exporter to attend free seminars provided by the Commercial Service and its partners on the specifics of the export process, including how to get financing, filling out documents, and how to do business in specific international markets. “Our goal is to provide our clients with solutions,” says Cino. “We transfer to them the skills and knowledge needed to be successful exporters.”

Finding Foreign Buyers

Since the key aspects of any transaction are identifying a market and a buyer, this is the general focus of much of what the Commercial Service does. Specific services include

Flexible Market Research that provides customized answers to questions about how to sell a particular product or service in a specific market. Commercial Service specialists, who live and work in the market, will identify distribution channels, promotion practices, key competitors, pricing, market trends, and more.

Once a market for a product or service is identified, the International Partner Search service pre-qualifies potential distributors and other partners. The Commercial Service draws on its extensive industry and other business contacts in the market to generate for the U.S. supplier a list of carefully matched prospective partners.

Once the prospective partners and buyers have been identified, the enhanced International Company Profile service conducts on-site background checks and provides recommendations on the reputation of prospective partners and buyers in the local market.

Cino also recommends that U.S. companies that they participate in U.S. and international trade shows where, in addition to showing their wares, they receive country market and sector counseling and meet with international buyers on the trade shows’ premises. The Commercial Service sends teams of specialists to assist U.S. exhibitors at key trade shows. “Matching qualified U.S. companies with qualified international buyers is perhaps our greatest strength,” she says. “We do this matching at trade shows, we do it for individual U.S. firms abroad through our Gold Key Service, and now we’re doing in on-line.”

The on-line service is called BuyUSA.com, a Web site that allows U.S. companies to locate international buyers and distributors, get shipping and tariff information, and collect payment for their products. The result of a unique public-private partnership, BuyUSA.com is a collaborative effort between IBM and the U.S. Commercial Service. Cino says that the expertise and physical network of the U.S. Commercial Service make BuyUSA.com a marketplace that will save buyers and sellers time, money and worry.

“This is a great resource for small businesses who want to expand their sales to international markets," says Raj Nisankarao, National Business Association President. How often do we, as small business owners, get the opportunity to partner with a prestigious organization such as the U.S. Commercial Service. Not only will it give us access to the global market through its well-established network of international buyers but will also give us a helping hand through the life cycle of the transaction.

For more information about the U.S. Commercial Service, visit www.BuyUSA.com.

Credit:
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The U.S. Commercial Service—Your Global Business Partner
The Commercial Service is the global business solutions unit of the Department of Commerce. Wide and deep knowledge of markets and industries. A unique global network. Inventive use of information technology. A focus on small and midsized businesses. The clout and cachet of the U.S. government.

We can help your business compete and win in the global marketplace

Reprint of this article does not constitute an endorsement by the National Business Association; the article is for informational purposes for our members and viewers of our Web site.